A Mellow Touch
by Veta
Summary: An accidental encounter unites a misanthrope to a witty, irresponsible, annoying, and sightless youth. The mystery surrounding the latter is enthralling, and the self-proclaimed people-hater can't rest until he solves it. NejiGaara, slash, AU.
1. Chapter 1

Warnings: Yaoi/slash, AU, OOCness?

Disclaimer: I do not own _Naruto_.

Let me know if this is worth continuing.

* * *

It was a dreadful night. Work, as usual, was painfully dull. He _hated _being boxed up in a cubicle, unable to even flex his stiff muscles in fear of disturbing the horribly still atmosphere that was filled with nothing but stale air and the monotonous clicking of fingers working keyboards. However, he _was _good at his job, and pursuing a career that you possess talent in tends to be more financially appealing.

Alas, at least he didn't have to put up with _them. _Them, those _things _that so often grated on his nerves, frequently making him contemplate suicide on each occasion that one found it necessary to speak to him. Yes, one of the few perks of having a desk job was that he didn't have much interaction with people- though he hated to call them that. A person, in his book, required a sufficient amount of intelligence before he would deem them human at all.

Incidentally, on nights such as these, he found that he liked to visit the old playground behind the school that he had attended during his elementary years. He fondly deemed it _his _playground nowadays, seeing as no one dared enter the grounds after an unfortunate incident on the monkey bars nearly fifteen years ago.

It was because of this fact that he was surprised- horrified, really- to find _someone_ _else _there. There, on the swing-set, their bare toes lightly touching the ground as the seat swayed with the nightly breeze. He could tell from their silhouette that they did not hear him approaching, or they at least made no move to suggest that they had. Frail hands gripped the swing's chains, their pale color visible in the faint moonlight. The person's head was down, as if staring at something nestled in their lap or perhaps upon the ground. Watching them, Neji felt his blood begin to simmer in his veins.

It wouldn't have been as much of a catastrophe if they hadn't been sitting in _his _swing. The one whose left chain he had nearly completely covered with a coalition of multi-colored band-aids during his childhood.

Slowly, he approached the shadowy figure. When he stopped about a foot and a half away, the person- a man, it seemed, - raised its head in mild curiosity. Neji frowned.

"You're sitting in my seat," He stated. He vaguely recalled someone saying the same line to him on the second day of his freshman year in high school. _Damn_. He hated remembering such random things at such inopportune times. Or at all, really.

The man raised a hairless brow with a mixture of surprise and doubt. _He can't be serious._

"I'm serious," Neji added. As if to prove himself, he pointed to the bandaged chain. "See these band-aids? I put them there." Waiting, his frown deepened as the unwanted guest took his sweet time in turning to gaze at the series of metal links.

"I don't, actually."

He turned to face Neji again, and the clouds parted at that precise moment. A wave of moonlight slowly encompassed the grounds, and soon Neji could see the pale, aquamarine eyes that reflected his image without any sort of detection. He recognized the familiar dead look before the red-tipped cane leaning against one of the wooden posts even came into view.

"Ah-"

"I think you'll find that the other swings work quite well. I tried them all out, you know. This one simply happened to be the comfiest." He smirked, and raised a hand to brush a few strands of fiery red hair aside when the wind made them tickle his forehead uncomfortably.

Anger reignited, Neji continued to scowl. "That's because _I _broke it in." How exactly you could break in a swing was something that neither man considered.

"I see. Thanks for that, then. Be off, now, would you? I was trying to enjoy the night."

"Look," Neji began, halting when he noticed the slight twitch of the stranger's lips. Flustered, he hurriedly corrected himself. "_Listen._ I don't know who you are or why you're here, but I..."

The redhead chuckled, the sound quiet and soft, yet resonating from deep within his chest. "I got lost."

Neji blinked in surprise, turning to face the stranger once more. "Lost, at this hour? You must be from out of town.."

"Yep. I'm staying with my sister in the Enclave. Do you know where that is?"

Neji paused for a moment, unsure if he should answer truthfully. "Yes…"

"Ah, I see." The stranger left it at that, giving himself a light push before lifting his feet and rocking slowly in the creaky old swing.

_Isn't he going to ask for directions? _Neji frowned, feeling frustrated seemingly without reason. "I… Why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

"Forgot."

"Forgot?"

"I believe that's what I said."

"How do you simply _forget _to put on your shoes?"

"Dunno."

"…" Neji grasped the hem of his shirt, his knuckles turning white with unwarranted anger. He took a deep breath. Maybe if he left the conversation at that, the expressionless visitor would leave.

Time ticked by, invisible amongst the moon-lighted dead grass and broken fence.

These sorts of things never happened to Neji. He led a wholly predictable life; one that never left him surprised or even remotely uncomfortable. He contemplated the situation. It wasn't everyday that he met someone whose cynicism rivaled his own.

He could let it go this time, he supposed. As a warning.

Neji huffed in mild disappointment and sat in the middle swing. He couldn't just leave the man here, after all. He wasn't entirely heartless.

"Your sister… she's probably worried," He mumbled awkwardly. Helping people was certainly not his forte.

"Probably," The stranger agreed.

Were people in need of help always this stubborn?

"Shouldn't you call her or something?"

"I don't have a cell phone."

"You could borrow mine."

"I don't know her number."

Neji frowned. Was it just him, or did the guy seem a tad reluctant to be found? He could understand that, at least. He wouldn't want to spend time with anyone from his family, either.

"Well… it's supposed to rain soon." In actuality, the night couldn't be any drier.

"I like rain."

"You could get pneumonia and die."

"So be it."

A single brow twitched. Neji wouldn't let some blind idiot die in _his _swing. He couldn't even step on the same spot on the sidewalk where he had seen a dead cockroach three weeks ago. Death was… revolting.

"How about a proposition?" The redhead seemed to be deep in thought.

"Such as?" Neji half-expected the man to say something wildly preposterous, like he would relinquish the swing if the brunette adopted one of his wild bobcat kittens.

"You take me out to dinner, and I'll call my sister."

_Dinner_? That meant… people. Neji didn't do well in rooms filled with people. He wouldn't even be able to work if it wasn't for the high walls of his cubicle.

"I ca- wait. I thought you said you didn't know her number!" The Hyuga cursed the accusatory tone of his voice.

"It's called a phone book. Or I could just call the operator."

_Duh. _Why couldn't he think of these things? Neji struggled to refrain from gritting his teeth.

"…I don't like restaurants."

"There's a Japanese place on Main Street that's open 24/7 and is almost always empty," He offered. The expressionless look of his face made it seem as though he didn't care either way.

Neji pursed his lips, then let them part as he sighed in defeat. "Fine."

The redhead almost smiled, the ends of his mouth having the slightest upward curve. "Perfect." He dropped both feet to the ground at precisely the same moment, pausing before heading to the wooden post that his cane leaned against. He gripped it in his left hand, then looked back in Neji's direction.

"Happen to have any spare shoes?"

* * *

"I can't believe you came in here barefoot." Neji poked his soba noodles with distaste. He could see why no one was ever there—the place was a dump. The floor's cracked tiles looked like they were from the early 80s. From what he could see of them, anyway..

"Why? It's not like they clean the floor with toxic waste or something."

"I somehow doubt they clean it at all," He responded moodily.

"Are you always so pessimistic?" The other man had already devoured his plate and was now picking the broccoli from Neji's plate with his splintered chopsticks. Neji marveled at how he could do so without being able to see. He was about to retort but decided against it. Instead, he glanced around the room, taking in a couple of abstract paintings on the walls.

"You know, you haven't told me your name," He realized. His gaze returned to the redhead, expression expectant.

His companion only continued eating, having now moved on to the cooked carrots. Through the food, he spoke: "I'm demoniac."

"Wha-?"

"I am madness maddened; that wild madness that's only calm to comprehend itself." The stranger lifted both chopsticks and tilted back his head as if about to cackle evilly in some sort of classic madman move, but instead dropped the twigs onto his plate and lifted the napkin from his lap to dab around his mouth.

Neji lifted a brow before succumbing to the childish urge to roll his eyes. "Alright, Melville. How about your real name?"

"Ah, you've read it? I would have thought otherwise." There was the almost-smile again.

Neji sighed, taking a drink from the bottled water he had brought with him from his car. "It wasn't voluntary." He had hated Moby Dick; the symbolism and metaphors that he could never recognize but that his teacher expected him to find. He had read the book three times over and still lacked a total understanding of it.

"Mmm. Well, the name is Gaara."

"Gaara," Neji repeated, letting the syllables familiarize on his tongue. "Rather unusual."

"And you?"

"It's Neji."

"Rather unusual," Gaara mocked.

* * *

Gaara clambered into Neji's small sedan, stretching his short legs in the ample foot space and folding up his cane to the size of a ruler. "So. Are you going to give me your phone?"

Neji looked over, pushing a stick of gum into his mouth. "Maybe I should just drive you home."

"First of all," Gaara smoothed his grey t-shirt and tugged at the black jeans he had rolled to the ankle to avoid stepping on. "It's not my home. And secondly, no."

"C'mon, Gaara. It's already past midnight."

"I'm not sure how time affects this argument."

Neji let out a long, hissing breath. "Is there any particular reason you don't want to go back?"

"I never said I didn't want to go back."

"Well, it's rather obvious."

Gaara fiddled with the door handle, running his fingers repeatedly over the cool metal. "Just give me the phone."

Neji surrendered for the umpteenth time that night. He pulled out his slim cell, flipping it open and dialing the operator before handing it to the redhead. "It's ringing."

"_Hello, operator. How may I assist you?"_

"I need the number for Termari Sabaku in Reidonburg."

"_Could you please spell the surname out for me?"_

"S-a-b-a-k-u."

"_Okay, one moment. Temari Sabaku. 426 East Haven Street. Reid-"_

"I just need the phone number."

"_555-895-2324._"

Gaara pulled the phone from his ear, pressing a couple of buttons until he successfully ended the call.

"Here, let me dial it for you," Neji offered.

"I'm perfectly capable of dialing a phone number," Gaara pointed out, and proved this as he put in the number without any mistakes.

_"Hello?" _His sister's voice was frantic.

"It's me."

"_Gaara?? Where are you?!" _

Neji arched a brow. She spoke so loud that he could hear every word perfectly.

"I went to some playground at a school and met a guy who took me out for dinner."

The Hyuga winced. Couldn't he have made the whole thing sound a tad less creepy?

"_You **what**? Gaara, you can't just go wandering around and taking meals from strangers. You don't have that luxury; you can't--"_

"Temari." Gaara's voice suddenly carried an edge. "I'm not an infant. I can take care of myself. I'll be back in time for-" He paused as he became aware of Neji's presence. "Saturday. Bye." He hung up and tossed the phone in his chauffeur's general direction.

"Well," Neji stated, bewildered. "You do realize it's Wednesday, right? What exactly do you plan on doing for the next few days?"

Gaara opened the car door, extended his cane, and shrugged as he faced the night air. "Who knows?" He stepped out, shut the door, and disappeared into the darkness within seconds.

Neji exhaled.

He would be getting zero sleep tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is pretty dull and uneventful, but the next one will be great. Hopefully.

I do apologize for the ridiculously long wait.

* * *

As expected, sleep was a treat in which Neji failed to indulge. Instead, he laid awake in his lonely queen-sized bed, the soft, inviting warmth of its one-thousand thread count sheets failing to lull him away to dreamland. His mind was filled with a repetitive recap of the evening, memories jumbled together in a horrid mess as though they had occurred years ago instead of just hours before. In fact, he could not find a concrete recollection because he was too desperate to remember everything at at once, seeking the one detail that made such a search worthwhile at all. And, finding nothing, he eventually donned his clothes and ventured into the office at four in the morning. Thankfully, the management had supplied a greatly appreciated gift the previous Christmas – a coffee maker that magically brewed a cup in less than a minute. It was one of those fancy ones, with a name that sounded like Katie Couric's.

He drank his coffee black, and its bitterness was yet another reminder of the man he had encountered the night before. Leaning back in his chair, he wrapped both hands around the warmth of his mug and closed his eyes in remembrance of his – Gaara's – beautiful, rich red hair. He wished that he had thought to touch it while he had had the chance so that he wouldn't have such yearnings and aches to do it now.

But, he hadn't, and this fact proved to be near fatal as the hours ticked by. His desk, once neat and orderly, quickly became disheveled as he rummaged through every nook and cranny in a steadfast attempt to find something else to occupy his time. However, despite his various pursuits, only thoughts of the vibrant redhead remained.

At last, in submission, he yanked his keyboard onto his lap and glared at the computer. It was his enemy – a being that likely contained unknown information about his dangerous infatuation. Licking his lips, Neji hesitated before opening the browser, palms beginning to sweat above the wireless mouse. The Google toolbar, which had yet to disappoint him, lay waiting with a cursor blinking at the ready. One deep breath, two – he effortlessly typed in the two words: "Gaara Sabaku," hitting 'enter' and praying for nothing while simultaneously wishing for everything.

Your search – **Gaara Sabaku –** did not match any documents.

Neji felt a mixture of relief and despair escape in a single breath. Perhaps he had spelled it wrong? After all, they weren't particularly common names...

His fingers danced on the keyboard for several minutes, restless. For a moment, the near-forgotten image of his mother teaching him "Heart and Soul" on the piano played in his mind.

"Ah!" A new idea emerged without warning and immediately, his posture became erect and his eyes focused. His sister. He had said it once – no, twice – damn, what was it? It started with a T, didn't it?

Tina? Teagan? Ten-something? Tyrannosaurus Rex?

Evident failure.

Twisting his long ponytail around a lengthy finger in a rather girlish fashion, Neji twirled around in his chair and frowned. Surely, there must be some other way of locating the younger male. Unfortunately, his train of thought was lost when a doggish coworker appeared over the top of his cubicle.

"Neji, have you seen my flash drive? It's black and red, with this rubber thing around it..."

"No."

"...Okay.. Um, do you realize that your phone keeps going off?"

Neji quirked a brow, glancing around his now-cluttered desk.

"There." Kiba pointed out the blinking device, which immediately began playing Beethoven's 5th Symphony as if in response to an accidental conduction.

Picking it up, Neji studied the outer screen. _Unknown caller. _Odd, no one called him, let alone an "unknown caller." Shooing Kiba away, he flipped the phone open and brought it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi." A brief pause. "My name is Temari Sabaku-" _That's _what it was! "I believe my brother used your phone to call me last night."

Sitting a little straighter, Neji silently wondered why he hadn't thought to browse his phone's history of outgoing calls. Cursed technology. "Yes- yes he did." He thought about adding that he had been trying to contact her or to find information on Gaara, but he didn't want to reaffirm his status as a creep.

There was a long silence, where many blistering questions might have been asked, typical of an over-protective big sister. Yet such an interrogation did not occur. Just, simply: "Do you have _any _idea where he might be?"

The pure, genuine tone of her voice nearly shattered the heart whose existence he often doubted. "I really don't. I figured you would have a better idea than I would," He admitted.

A reply of sniffles made his heart further weaken. How could Gaara treat his poor sister so horribly? She obviously cared a great deal about him. "I just – I don't know where he could be. He never does anything that makes sense..."

Neji simply listened on, having no clue as to what comforting words to provide. He wasn't good at helping others, and he especially wasn't good at supplying reassurance.

"Please... let me know if you see him. Or hear from him. Anything."

"..Sure." He honestly didn't know what else to say.

"Thank you." She sounded relieved, despite the fact that he had actually solved none of her problems and could, in fact, be the creep that he seemed to be the night before.

"It's no problem."

They exchanged quick goodbyes before Neji lifted his mug to his lips in thought. Never does anything that makes sense, eh? Well, that was made obvious last night... Smirking, he recalled Gaara's shoelessness as he sipped his now lukewarm coffee. Odd indeed.

"Okay," He finally said aloud, returning the mug to its previous spot. Where would a blind person go that wouldn't make sense?

A museum... not that they had any... some other kind of gallery... none of those either. Hmm.

A movie theatre? That seemed plausible. Going to the movies was one of the few activities available in the small town. Then again, it was a bit of a long shot, wasn't it? But which one?

Neji again grabbed his keyboard and began typing with remarkable speed. There were really only three theatres around that he could have gone to, and a worker would likely remember a blind redhead buying a movie ticket, right? Buzzing with an excitement that could not be detected from the expression on his face, Neji slid his phone into his pocket and lifted his set of keys off of a conveniently placed hook. He had technically already worked an eight hour day, what with being there so early. He didn't bother acknowledging the questions that met him on the way out, too determined in his mindset. By the time he made his way outside, however, he was already beginning to doubt his seemingly ingenious plan.

What if Gaara _wasn't _at any of the theatres? Really, it was pretty illogical. The theatres had only been open a few hours. And what if he wasn't right at all? He had only been with him for a couple of hours, anyway – what were the chances that he had a better idea of where he would be than his sister?

Sighing, Neji slammed his car door shut and unlocked the glove box compartment, extracting a half-empty pack of cigarettes from the back. He opened the box, withdrew his lighter, and puzzled its sea-green color as he lit himself a stick. Figures. He threw the items back into the glove box, re-locked it, and started the ignition. The smoke quickly settled, seeming to coat the leather interior with a layer of the sweet menthol scent that befuddled his senses. He cracked the window before clicking in his seatbelt and jerking the car into drive, heading to his first destination: Regal Cinemas.

* * *

The brick building was dilapidated and far past the term "run-down." For a moment, Neji believed the place to be closed, but he quickly noticed a young teen sitting in the booth, fiddling with a cellphone. Pulling up to the curb, Neji left the keys in the car – no one was around to steal it, anyway – and hopped out. As he approached, he realized that the prospect of finding Gaara here seemed less and less likely. They only had one movie playing: Sense and Sensibility. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask. Unfortunately, the kid paid him little attention and he had to bang on the thick, tinted plastic to get his attention.

"What, what? What do you want?" The boy queried, shifting nervously in his seat – it appeared Neji had given him quite a fright.

"I was wondering... have you seen a short redhead today by chance? He's about this tall, with green eyes."

"Uh, we haven't gotten any customers today, man." He picked the inside of a nostril with his thumbnail. "Sorry."

"Thanks anyway," Neji muttered, somewhat disgusted by the other's lack of decency. He headed back into his car and studied the other two addresses. Starlight something or other was twenty-six miles away. He had thought it a possibility at first, but really, how would Gaara have gotten that far over a single night? Looking back, the Grand Theatre seemed to be a more feasible choice. It was only eight miles – probably built in an attempt to finally shut down the dingy Regal. If Neji had actually gone out once in a while like a typical human being, he might have known this beforehand.

Irregardless , he was off again.

This time, there were definitely customers. The Grand Theatre was located in the middle of a shopping outlet, and as thus, the parking lot was completely packed. However, this also meant that there would be less of a possibility of anyone remembering one particular redhead.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hi, I'm looking for a redhead yay tall with green eyes.. he's -" He paused, realizing that he didn't know how old Gaara was, but that it would be kind of suspicious if he was asking for someone whose age he didn't even know. "Twenty-two, and he's blind." A guess mixed with a somewhat pathetic description, but it seemed reasonable.

The woman inside raised a brow, seeming somewhat irritated that he was wasting her time when other customers wanted tickets. "No, I'm sorry..."

Neji cursed under his breath. Yes, he shouldn't have expected to find anything, but still – it was frustrating. He mumbled a thank-you before turning to walk away, but when the woman spoke again, he instantly turned around.

"Hey, wait-" She held up a finger, expression showing that she didn't enjoy keeping the other customers waiting. "My shift just started ten minutes ago. I'll ask the girl who was here earlier, if you want."

The relief Neji felt was enough to render him speechless. "That would be great," He managed. It took such strength to be a civilized human being...

The woman pulled out her cellphone, repeatedly looking around as if to ensure that her boss wasn't around the corner. "Emily, hey. Yeah, good, look – there's this guy here asking if you've seen a redhead with..." She glanced back at Neji.

"Green eyes."

"Yeah, green eyes. But he's blind, so I guess he'd have one of those stick things?"

Resisting the urge to physically smack some common sense into the blond, he simply nodded.

"Huh. No, he's short and twenty-" She pulled the phone away from her ear as Neji distinctly heard the other girl exclaim something in excitement. "What? Ok, ok. Apparently she thinks she sold him a ticket to part one of the Planet Earth marathon a couple hours ago, so it should still be running... shouldn't it? Yeah..." The girl rambled on, but Neji was already inside the doors. He had forgotten about the ticket ripper... but there were plenty of people around, it wasn't as though he were the only one to have entered. If he walked straight past, it would probably look like he had just gone to the bathroom or something.

Taking a deep breath, Neji pretended to dry off his hands on the back of his pants and cavalierly walked past the rather threatening-looking man, quite glad that this particular theatre did, in fact, have bathrooms outside of the theatre area. Convenient.

Indeed, his plan worked! That would certainly be helpful on the rare occasion he actually went to the movie theatre... well, actually, that was never, so perhaps it didn't work out too well.

Incidentally, Neji immediately spotted out the screen – number 13 – located on the other end of the hall, of course. Intent on withholding some self-control, he managed to refrain from bursting into a run and soon reached the door with a brisk, yet inconspicuous walk. Upon entering, the room was... quite black. The light from the screen really only seemed to reach the first few rows, which wasn't exactly helpful given it had stadium seating. So, he did what any brilliant man would do and removed his cellphone from his pocket, using its lighted keys to guide his ascent.

Finally, near the back, he spotted the redhead whose voice and wit occupied his thoughts. Now, what would he say? He supposed he could sneak up behind him and blow in his ear, but that'd be a bit.. well, odd, however amusing. Instead, he shuffled down the aisle and took at seat next to the younger man, whose face immediately turned to his.

"Yes?"

"Uh.." For some reason, he had forgotten that Gaara was capable of hearing.

"Neji," Gaara stated, easily recognizing the voice. "Are you stalking me?"

Neji was amazed by how blasé he seemed upon asking such a question. "No.." Luckily, he was capable of the same calm tone. "Your sister called and asked me to find you."

Gaara's eyes narrowed at this and he turned back to face the screen.

"Look, I realize that something is going on and you don't want to deal with it, but somehow I'm not enough of a heartless bastard to let you sleep out in an abandoned warehouse or something where you'd likely get killed or kidnapped or something."

"Christ, you whine a lot," Gaara said in a flat voice, regarding Neji with his unseeing eyes once again. "So what's your proposition?"

Proposition? "What?"

"How do you propose to keep me out of an old warehouse where I could get stabbed or mugged what have you?"

Well, Neji hadn't thought that far ahead. What could he propose, anyway? If he took Gaara back to his sister, he would undoubtedly disappear again. He certainly wasn't going to pay to keep him at a hotel for the next few days. "I suppose you could stay with me," He thought aloud, instantly regretting this proposal and wincing as he realized that it had actually been spoken.

"Okay."

"Excuse me?" Alright, his head was spinning. Had he just heard correctly?

"I said, 'O-k-ay,'" Gaara enunciated. "You have HDTV, right?"

* * *


End file.
